Another Irving Book Done With

So, I have been reading A Son Of The Circus for forever now. I know I take pride in reading slowly so that I can soak it all up, but this novel is anything but a moderately-paced read. I have been toting this book around for a couple of months now, and though I did enjoy it, it was... well... viscous.

In fact, if you do not already love Irving, don't start here. The quotation from the New York Times Book Review on the cover reads "His [Irving's] most entertainig novel since Garp". There are so many things wrong with statement. I want to clarify: I was entertained by this book and I am glad that I have read it. That being said, this novel is not even a contender for the most entertaining novel he has gifted us since The World According To Garp. Check into A Widow For One Year or Until I Find You. These are entertaining. The value of this work is not in its action, but in its meaning. After everything you have been through and learned from the first word forward is, in the end, simplified to a remarkable and sentimental life lesson -subtle though it may be.
The things that make this book so utterly worth it are the same things that make you compulsively read everything he's put to paper. His amazing a vivid storytelling ability and spin yarns are ever present here. You can't avoid identifying with and investing in his characters. His writing style is so true to life and does not omit the awkwardness that comes with real life situations.
With all the character and development as well as well as an artfully arranged collection of stories that are resolved in a tight little bundle near the end of the novel, you might be expecting more from the ending. If so, you would be missing the forest for the trees.